Waterbuck opinion

[Mekaniks]

See post #12

Yeah....my bad. Thinking and typing instead of reading.....

 

[Moe324]

Does not appear to be a fully mature trophy....

BUT.... we got to have some more info before just placing blame.....
Did the PH tell you to shoot that specific animal?
Did they charge you full trophy price?
If they did charge you full price, did you complain or ask to have the price reduced??? If so, what was the answer?

There is lots of stuff that can happen in field and there are ways of rectifying some things when mistakes are made. How those mistakes are handled by both parties is important.....

Hunted it for 5 days. It was the only male on the property per the PH. I never got a good look at it. PH told me it was a big male. I took his word for it. I said I don't need a 30" one just a good one. One day at dusk we say it in bush and I didn't stare hard at is as we tried to sneak off the truck. Then it came out boardside of bush with just head and neck sticking out. I had it in the scope but could only see one side of horns and was focused on where the vitals would be if it stepped out. On the day I killed it it stepped into road at dusk and PH said shoot it. When I walked up to it I saw it was not symmetrical and closed together. PH got pissed when I asked why he didn't tell me. Said it wasn't his job to tell me. He then said fine you don't have to pay for it. Then when we got to camp he said I was paying for it. I called the head of Professional hunters association of South Africa and he said it was a trophy animal and to work something out with the PH. The PH then told me I had to pay the cull price of $1500 on it. This was after a incident of him shooting a giraffe I wounded without my consent and then shooting it 2 more times damaging the hide and skull. I will be writing the whole story up soon.

 

[Moe324]

This is just the tip of the iceberg. The PH and his brother then began verbally assaulting me and saying stuff about me. At one point the brother came at the truck to try to pull me off. When I placed the call to PHASA my girlfriend was hiding in the room thinking she was going to be hurt by these men. It was so bad I called two other PH from other hunts to see if they could come get us. FYI I never swore or called them names. I only stated facts that what they did was unprofessional, misleading, and poor customer service. It gets better I'm still typing up the whole story. This was my 4th time hunting in RSA and I knew this behavior wasnt right.

 

[Mekaniks]

Hunted it for 5 days. It was the only male on the property per the PH. I never got a good look at it. PH told me it was a big male. I took his word for it. I said I don't need a 30" one just a good one. One day at dusk we say it in bush and I didn't stare hard at is as we tried to sneak off the truck. Then it came out boardside of bush with just head and neck sticking out. I had it in the scope but could only see one side of horns and was focused on where the vitals would be if it stepped out. On the day I killed it it stepped into road at dusk and PH said shoot it. When I walked up to it I saw it was not symmetrical and closed together. PH got pissed when I asked why he didn't tell me. Said it wasn't his job to tell me. He then said fine you don't have to pay for it. Then when we got to camp he said I was paying for it. I called the head of Professional hunters association of South Africa and he said it was a trophy animal and to work something out with the PH. The PH then told me I had to pay the cull price of $1500 on it. This was after a incident of him shooting a giraffe I wounded without my consent and then shooting it 2 more times damaging the hide and skull. I will be writing the whole story up soon.

Yeah it sounds bad for sure and someone should have made it right. It sounds strange that you would need to go directly to PASHA without the outfitter and / or land owner stepping in, unless the PH was also one or all of those things....

I look forward to the full story when you can.....

 

[Moe324]

Yeah it sounds bad for sure and someone should have made it right. It sounds strange that you would need to go directly to PASHA without the outfitter and / or land owner stepping in, unless the PH was also one or all of those things....

I look forward to the full story when you can.....

Yep the PH was the outfitter and the landowner where it was shot. The hunt came from PHASA.

 

[C.W. Richter]

No. 27"+ is trophy. Buyer Beware?? "Do not go blindly into this good hunt..." Have you bought a car? Although the salesmen are the most vulgar ilk on the planet, it's actually your responsibility whether or not to pull the trigger. This is my Son's as a teen...He didn't have to take advice from anyone... *Hunt in Zim or Namibia next time, for starters.

 

[Mekaniks]

Yep the PH was the outfitter and the landowner where it was shot. The hunt came from PHASA.

Gotcha. The pieces falling into place….
Donation hunt? Or banquet purchase?….Not that it really matters, but details are important …

 

[ChasingHemingway]

Eventually I will write more about a horrible experience I had with a outfit in Limpopo. But right now I would like opinions on weather you think this waterbuck is a trophy. Would you be happy with your PH having you hunt it and never describing it to you. So after the shot this is what you see. View attachment 624446

Not in my opinion. Looks young. Hopefully it was a great experience. I know you trust your PH when he says shoot.

 

[sureshot375]

I don’t know what to tell you. There was obviously a lot more wrong than just the size of the waterbok.

Probably best to cut your losses and move on to the next adventure.

 

[Red Leg]

I know many here are thrilled with hunting game on high fenced properties in South Africa. But, this is a classic example of the difference between hunting a game animal behind a fence rather than in his natural environment. Had the same 5 days been spent in Mozambique, the PH would have been doing everything in his power to find the best waterbuck among the many free range bulls you were seeing rather than chasing around a single immature animal.

I am not surprised the PH backed you up on a wounded giraffe. Though I am rather surprised he was carrying a rifle on a PG hunt.

I have never had the interaction you describe with any PH with which I have hunted. Though, I admit that I am confident that I haven't hunted with this particular one.

 

[Moe324]

I know many here are thrilled with hunting game on high fenced properties in South Africa. But, this is a classic example of the difference between hunting a game animal behind a fence rather than in his natural environment. Had the same 5 days been spent in Mozambique, the PH would have been doing everything in his power to find the best waterbuck among the many free range bulls you were seeing rather than chasing around a single immature animal.

I am not surprised the PH backed you up on a wounded giraffe. Though I am rather surprised he was carrying a rifle on a PG hunt.

I have never had the interaction you describe with any PH with which I have hunted. Though, I admit that I am confident that I haven't hunted with this particular one.

He wasn't carrying a rifle. He took the rifle I used to shoot it. We were on the back of the truck and he asked to hand it to him. I was thinking I was getting off the truck to stalk closer. He then proceeded to shoot it from the truck. Also he had me shoot it with a rifle he never had me shoot at the range. So no telling where it was hitting for me.

 

[Puddle]

Wow, this is beginning to sound like a new twist on the old adage "a hunting adventure" ...

 

[Hunt anything]

Every PH I’ve hunted with has pretty much asked if I liked an animal and wanted to be sure I would be satisfied with it. Not too sure I would want to hunt anything that there was only one on a property unless I was doing the landowner a favor because they no longer wanted said animal on the property.
I definitely would not have been satisfied with that waterbuck. Way too young.
JMO. I’m definitely anxious for “ The Rest of the Story”

 

[RR 314]

This is just the tip of the iceberg. The PH and his brother then began verbally assaulting me and saying stuff about me. At one point the brother came at the truck to try to pull me off. When I placed the call to PHASA my girlfriend was hiding in the room thinking she was going to be hurt by these men. It was so bad I called two other PH from other hunts to see if they could come get us. FYI I never swore or called them names. I only stated facts that what they did was unprofessional, misleading, and poor customer service. It gets better I'm still typing up the whole story. This was my 4th time hunting in RSA and I knew this behavior wasnt right.

You certainly know by now that that is not a representative waterbuck—much less a trophy. Again, really odd that they would have you hunting on a property that had one male waterbuck. I personally cringe when I hear someone claim to be “verbally assaulted,” but it sounds like a Shiite show all around.

 

[Kharn]

Who's this PH?